Is this possible?

I have to admit that I liked TNT Dallas camera work better. I liked the high definition better. I wonder if it is possible to redo the original Dallas into high definition. That would be fabulous if it were possible because it is the best of the old and the new. Does anybody know?

All 14 seasons of original Dallas were shot on 35mm film. Seasons 10-13 were edited electronically on to a video master which reduced the cinematic look of the picture. It's possible to remaster the entire seasons on to High Definition but very time consuming for seasons 10-13 as they need to be edited together from the original film elements.

IMDB can, just look up any show there and then click on the full technical specs
Normally those shows were all shot on film, just some comedy shows like The Cosby Show or Married with children were shot directly on video in front of an audience. But not all comedies were, FRIENDS was shot on film too, and they got their HD release already.
But i don't recall any 1 hour show to be shot on video instead of film.

It's possible to remaster the entire seasons on to High Definition but very time consuming for seasons 10-13 as they need to be edited together from the original film elements.

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As CBS did with Star Trek TNG, right?

Last edited: Nov 4, 2017

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I hate when old people poke you at a wedding and say "you are next".
So next time i was at a funeral i poked them and said "you are next".

All 14 seasons of original Dallas were shot on 35mm film. Seasons 10-13 were edited electronically on to a video master which reduced the cinematic look of the picture. It's possible to remaster the entire seasons on to High Definition but very time consuming for seasons 10-13 as they need to be edited together from the original film elements.

Click to expand...

I've heard the original film pieces were discarded in that process, with no film master or film negative left behind. They can work with the video copies, though, and may have (the S10 DVD, though flawed, looks 300% better than when it originally aired) they've got so many digital tricks available today.

IMDB can, just look up any show there and then click on the full technical specs
Normally those shows were all shot on film, just some comedy shows like The Cosbys or Married with children were shot directly on video.
But i don't recall any 1 hour show to be shot on video instead of film.

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You probably know this already, but I'll repeat: the networks had a rule that all night time dramas had to be shot on 35mm film, because of its superior look. But by the late-'80s, many shows -- like Lorimar's programs -- got around the traditional lab costs by using the cheapie video post-production technique @garry describes above, with the film pieces dubbed down to low grade video prior to editing, leaving a blurry low-resolution look that might as well have been shot in old style video. And that was the only version left in existence when all was said and done.

Ghastly. According to old soapchat alum @al paige , the old timers in the lab were shocked to see the episodes go out over the airwaves looking like that (as were the viewers) but the exec felt the devolution in visual quality was worth the expense saved.

And that was the only version left in existence when all was said and done.

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Yeah well, for a time they've said that about Star Trek TNG as well and that it would never be possible to create a better version, at most an upscale.
And then in 2011 they suddenly came around the corner and said almost all film material still exists and now we have it in 1080p on Bluray, so who knows.
Maybe all those Dallas film rolls do still rot in some producers basement or properly stored in some CBS salt mine right above MacGuyver.

Last edited: Nov 4, 2017

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I hate when old people poke you at a wedding and say "you are next".
So next time i was at a funeral i poked them and said "you are next".

Well I never heard anything from Warner Bros. regarding my request for something special next year to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Dallas. Shame really. I'd love to get my hands on a Blu-ray Box Set of Dallas.

I've heard the original film pieces were discarded in that process, with no film master or film negative left behind. They can work with the video copies, though, and may have (the S10 DVD, though flawed, looks 300% better than when it originally aired.

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We enquired about this to WB last year and were told that all the original 35mm prints, including the Season 10-13 film stock still exist in the archives. It's pretty impossible to upscale seasons 10-13 in their current form, even with todays digital trickery. There simply isn't enough information in the picture signal to make an improvement. You'd just get a mountain of grain. They could be color corrected for a DVD release but that isn't going to happen.

It's ironic as it was an exec at Lorimar who was one of the pioneers of getting the studio to transfer and edit film stock to a video master. He rather foolishly thought it was the future and was quoted as saying the only high quality 35mm shows viewers would want to watch in future years would be sitcoms. NBC/Universal were never convinced of the film edited to video transfer process and ended up editing many of their shows on to laserdisc. This is why we now have pristine copies of shows such as Dynasty and Murder She Wrote in glorious HD.

NBC/Universal were never convinced of the film edited to video transfer process and ended up editing many of their shows on to laserdisc. This is why we now have pristine copies of shows such as Dynasty and Murder She Wrote in glorious HD.

It's pretty impossible to upscale seasons 10-13 in their current form, even with todays digital trickery. There simply isn't enough information in the picture signal to make an improvement. You'd just get a mountain of grain.

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Are you sure about that? I've heard things like line doubling, edge enhancement, etc..., could indeed make a difference.

And why did the S10 DVDs look so much better than when that year first aired back in 1986/87?

And why did the S10 DVDs look so much better than when that year first aired back in 1986/87?

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The quality of US broadcasts varied a lot in the 1980's so you probably see an improvement on the DVD. But many episodes on that set are badly interlaced with a variable colour palette as a result of the video transfer. 10 is the one season I'd love to see get the 35mm treatment so it can look like the images below.

I wonder how many people it would take to show Lorimar that there is a market for the original Dallas in hi definition. If a 1000 people showed an interest would that do it. I also wonder if a petition could be made for the original dallas in Hi def.

It's ironic as it was an exec at Lorimar who was one of the pioneers of getting the studio to transfer and edit film stock to a video master. He rather foolishly thought it was the future and was quoted as saying the only high quality 35mm shows viewers would want to watch in future years would be sitcoms

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Gee. I wonder if it was the same Lorimar exec who fired Bob McCullough from FALCON CREST after Season 3, thus ruining the show forever.

I can’t believe Dallas isn’t at least on Blu Ray. If Little House on the Praire is on Blu Ray, then surely Dallas could and should be. My Dallas DVDs are poor picture quality, which is a travesty for such a popular show.